Drying-machine.



W. M. BROWNELL.

oavme MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 1, I916.

1,242,518. Patented Oct. 9,1917.

\L E3 f Q Q he a E L wumw. m filflllllll M m I Inventor: b (W M W. M. BROWNELL.

DRYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAYI, 191s.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

specification, reference being adhering to the walls of the mg the pressure in To all whom it may concern: v

Be it known that I, WILLIAM M. BRowNEL a citizen of the United States; residing at the borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, State of New York, h tainnew and useful Improvement in Dry,- lng-Machines, of which the following is a had therein to the accompanying drawings. 1

My invention has for its object a new and improved machine ordryer forcuse in extracting an evaporable fluid such aswater from an adhesive, plastic or semi-fluid substance. One substance of this kind is green curds formed by precipitation from buttermilk; or 'skimmilk in the manufacture of casein. Another substance is the residue left in the process of refining sugar, andwhich is sometimes referred to as sugar-mud.

e machine embodying my invention is also capable of a variety of other uses not necessary to be mentioned in detail here.

Beforev describing the construction of the machine, it maybe stated'that the material is rendered homogeneous and is forced un der pressure through a plurality of drying tubes or pipes which are subjected by suitable means to heat suiiicient to convert the evaporable fluid into vapor or steam and as I believe to form a layer thereof between the semi-solid matter and the walls of the tube which keeps the material beingjdried from tube and from burning. To avoid the escape of the steam and to prevent the pressure produced by the expansion of the fluid into vapor from forcibly ejecting thc material andthus reducthe tube below the necessary point, I form suitable'constrictions in the pipes and thereby impede somewhat the prggress ofthe material through the drying tu esi By regulating the temperature in the tubes carefully, the material may be caused to emerge from the machine in almost any state of dryness required. The moisture passes off, into the air by the sudden expansion caused by the release of pressure'as it emerges into the open air. I also sli'c'e through the, material at frequent intervals just as it enters the drying tubes, as I believe this treatment facilitates thedrying. f

ave inventeda cer- DRYING-MACHINE.

The invention will be fully understood from thefollowing description taken in connection with the acco t p nying drawings and the novelvfeatures thereof are pointed out and clearly defined in the claims .at the close of this specification. v Y In the drawings, Figure 11s a longitudinal vertical section of a machine embodying my invention. 1 1 1' g Y vFigjQQis a section online 2, 2 of. Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

' Fig. 3 is.a section on line 8, 3 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 4: is a detailofthe stuflingboxconstruction. I v .Fig. 5 is a detail of a device for forming a longitudinal bore in the material as it emerges.

Fig. 6 is tive., I 2

Referring now to the drawings, at 11 is shown the: hopper into which the material to be operated upon is fed. At 12 is shown a body or casing which incloses the forcing mechanism or po 1 er feed by means of which the material is forced under heavy pressure through the dryer; In the machine; shown in the'drawings this is a feeding worm or screw'13 mounted on a shaft 14 and driven by suitablemeans as a pulley 15. It'will be understood that I do not limit myself to this particular former r pellingthe material forward although I be lieveit to be the'best for the purposes which I contemplate. v

I At 16 is shown a perforated plate having therein a series of constricted passages 17 (see Fig 3,); which lead to the drying tubes 18. The perforated plate -16 is provided with a flange 19 which is engaged by a flanged collar 20:which;screws onto the body,12 of the propelling mechanismg. At 21 is shown a cutter or knife having one or more blades. Itis mounted on'the end of the shaft 14 so that it revolvestherewith, with its face in contact with the end face of theperforated plate .16. This cutter slices; through the mate'rialf at frequent intervals'just as the material is being forced into the constricted passages 17 and hasan important eifect on the drying operation... I l'indv that by slicing through the material at intervals, moisture a view of said device in perspec- Patented Oct. 9, 1917. Application filed May 1, 1916 Serial N 0. 94,586. l l

is brought to the surface of the cut, as is noticeable when an apple is sliced with a knife, and this tends to liberate the moisture and to expedite the drying. It also tends .to cause the final product to separate into small pieces like flakes or laminae which is desirable in many cases.

The drying tubes 18 are of a length determined by the nature of the substance to be operated upon and the temperature to be employed, and are preferably brazed into a plate 22 which is secured by screws 28 or" other suitable means to a head 24: into which the perforated plate 16 is itself screwed. packing 25 serves to make a tight joint.

The drying tubes 18 diverge as shown in Fig. 1 so that there is a greater space separating them at the outlet end and .permltting a better flow of'steam about this part of the tubes. The'tubes 18 pass through holes in a head 26, a tight joint between each of the tubes and the head being made by means of a suitable gland 27 and a packing 28. This permits the drying tubes to P move slightly relatively to the heads 24E and 26 without producing leakage. The drying tubes 18 project through the head 26, and are provided with constricted nozzles or tips 29, the orifices of which are at different distances from the head 26, the orifices of the top tubes being at a greater distance than those of the bottom tubes, as will be seen in Fig. 1. This permits the strips of material which emerges from the several orifices to fall clear and not to interfere with each other.

The drying tubes 18 are surrounded by a casing 30 suitably secured to the two heads 2% and 26 as by flanges 31, and 32. A suitable heating medium as for instance steam under pressure is supplied to the interior of the casing 30 by the pipe 33 controlled by the valve 3 1. The steam passes out by the pipe 35 controlled by the valve 36. At 37 and 38 are shown pipes by which water of suitable temperature may be introduced into the dryer when'it is being put into or out of operation.

At 39 is shown a conveyer on which the dried material falls, and at 10 is shown a knife roll for cutting or breaking up the strips of dried material.

In Figs. 5 and 6 there is shown a fixed member ll supported in a ring 42 by means of two bars 18 which serves to form a hole in the strip of material and also to take the place of the constriction by occupying part of the space in the bore of the drying tube. This is for use when it is desired to produce a tubular strip of material. It may also be used to take the. place of the constricted tip '29.

1n the operation of my machine, steam of a pressure to give the necessary degree of heat is admitted to the casing around the tubes 18, and then the material to be dried is placed in the hopper 11 and the machine is started. It is forced forward under heavy pressure by the screw 18 which imels it through the perforated plate 16. Just before it enters the holes in the perforated plate, it is sliced through by the knife 21 for the purposes previously explained. The constrictions in the passages v1'7 retard the movement of the material so that the tubes will be filled entirely full. The steam in the jacket heats the tubes very hot and converts a part of the moisture in the material into steam which I believe forms a protective layer between the material and the inner surface of the drying tubes. But whatever is the action, I find that the material does not burn and does not adhere to the tubes, and that when it emerges into the atmosphere the moisture immediately is dissipated into the atmosphere and the material is found to be dry.

While 1 have'shown herein a steam jacket as the means for heating my drier, it will be understood that any suitable heating medium or direct heat may be employed. It will also be understood that the material may be passed through the machine more than once if it is found desirable to dry it by stages rather than by a single operation; also that this may be repeated as long as the material remains in a suificiently plastic condition. I 7

What I claim is:

1. The combination. ofadrying tube having a constriction near the discharge end, means for heating the dryingtube, and means for forcing the material under pressure through said drying tube.

2. The combination of a drying tube having constrictions one near the intake end and one near the discharge end, means for heating the drying tube and means for forcing the material under pressure through said drying tube.

8. The combination of a drying tube, means for heating the drying tube, means for forcing the material under pressure through. said drying tube, and a knife to slice through the material before it enters the drying tube.

1. The combination of a plurality of dry ing tubes, a heating jacket surrounding said drying tubes, and means for forcing the material to be dried through the said tubes, sail pipes diverging toward the discharge en 5. The combination of a .plurality of drying tubes, a heating jacket surrounding said drying tubes, and means for forcing the material to be dried through said tubes, the discharge orifices of the said tubes being arranged so that the orifices of the top tubes project beyond those of the tubes just below.

6, The combination of a series of drying tubes, a steam jacket surrounding them comhead to allow for difference of expansion 10 posed of two heads and a casing, a pcrfobetween the tubes and the said casing.

rated plate the orifices of which leading In testimony whereofl aflix my signature, into said drying tubes said perforated plate in presence of two witnesses.

i being screwed into one of said heads, a second perforated plate to which said tubes WILLIAM BROWNELL' are each rigidly secured, said second per- Witnesses: forated plate being secured to said head, H. ALBERTUS WEST,

and said tubes passing through said second W. L. COVERT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

